Introduction: Although Joseph is one of the sons of Jacob, he stands out as a great patriarchal figure, similar to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, Joseph occupies more space in the book of Genesis than any of these three patriarchs. The stories of Joseph contrast with the preceding stories of rape, murder, and prostitution. Unlike the other patriarchs, who often stumble and misbehave, Joseph remains pure and compassionate. Like the prophet Daniel, Joseph is a wise man and a prophet. He is a wise man who behaves intelligently and finds the right solutions to problems of politics and economics; but he also is a prophet who receives God’s revelations to communicate to His people. Joseph not only receives dreams from God, but he also is able to interpret the dreams of other people, from the prison to the court of Pharaoh. Joseph represents the righteous person par excellence. He survives crime, deception, and violence. God defeats the acts of evil and the traps directed at Joseph and uses them to fulfill His designs. In fact, God turns all the wicked acts into opportunities to advance Joseph. Each time, Joseph comes out greater, whether it is from the pit, from slavery, from prison, or in the court of Pharaoh. God’s blessing of Joseph is not just for his happiness. It is through Joseph that God’s blessing of Abraham is fulfilled (compare Gen. 12:3, Gen. 22:18). Through Joseph, not only the family of Israel but all the nations will be blessed and saved.
Part II: Commentary
The Dreams of Joseph
The fact that Joseph receives dreams from God is humiliating for his brothers; the dreams are a divine sign of Joseph’s “spiritual” superiority. When Joseph tells his dreams to his brothers out of his naive desire to share the puzzling revelation with them, they are irritated and hate him even more. The reason for their increased anger is that they have understood the meaning of the first dream all too clearly (Gen. 37:8). As shepherds and people living off the land, they understand the significance of the sheaves, which evoke the production of basic food. The fact that their sheaves bow before their brother’s sheaf (Gen. 37:7) suggests that they will someday be economically dependent on him and even behave as servants to him for that purpose. The repetition of dreams with the same message confirms the truth of the message and is a sign that these dreams come from God (Gen. 41:32). Jacob interprets the symbols of the sun, the moon, and the 11 stars as referring, respectively, to the father (himself), the mother (his wife), and his 11 sons (Gen. 37:10). Jacob, therefore, understands that the dreams apply to his family and that one day they will all bow before Joseph. Although Jacob rebukes Joseph (Gen. 37:10), or pretends to rebuke him (because he is in the presence of the rest of his family), Jacob is puzzled by the dream. He secretly ponders over it and is anxious to see its fulfillment (Gen. 37:11).
However, the brothers are jealous and worried (Gen. 37:11) because they sense that the dream is threatening to them. Joseph’s brothers take, therefore, the first opportunity to eliminate the dreamer. The occasion presents itself when Jacob sends Joseph to visit his brothers in the fields. When the brothers see Joseph, they are excited even before he reaches them, because they realize this is their opportunity to kill him (Gen. 37:18). The plural exhortations of the brothers (Gen. 37:20) recall the plural exhortations of the men of Babel (Gen. 11:3, 4), suggesting a similar mentality and attitude. Like the men of Babel, the brothers take God’s place and intend to determine their own destiny and that of their brother. Joseph’s brothers want to kill him, not because he reports to his father or because they are jealous of him, but because of his dreams. The Hebrew expression they use to qualify him is ironic: ba‘al hakhalomot, which is translated “dreamer” (Gen. 37:19, NKJV), literally means “master of dreams.”
And yet, what they intended as a mockery will become prophetic, because Joseph will, indeed, become an expert in the interpretation of dreams. Although Joseph is alone and facing danger at each step of his troubles, someone unexpectedly intervenes on his behalf. When the brothers plot to kill him, Reuben persuades his brothers to cast him into a pit instead. When he is cast into the pit waiting to be killed, Judah convinces his brothers to sell him to a passing caravan instead. The brothers want to kill Joseph because they feel threatened by his dreams (Gen. 37:20). Their plan is to kill him and then cast his corpse into a pit (Gen. 37:20). The scene of the brothers sitting down to enjoy their meal while Joseph lies in an empty pit, without water (Gen. 37:24), anticipates, ironically, the reverse situation in which Joseph is well-fed while his brothers are hungry and threatened by starvation (Gen. 42:2, 33; Gen. 43:1, 2; Gen. 44:1; Gen. 45:17, 18). The technical expression “they lifted their eyes and looked, and there” (Gen. 37:25, NKJV) marks the anticipation of God’s intervention to save (see Gen. 18:2 and Gen. 22:13). The vision of the caravan anticipates the salvation of Joseph. That the caravan appears at that precise moment is indeed providential.
Judah is the only one who acts successfully on behalf of Joseph against his brothers. Whereas Reuben can only “hear” his brothers plotting to kill Joseph, Judah is “heard” by his brothers, who are then convinced by his arguments. Whereas Reuben can only delay the killing, Judah is able to save Joseph for good from his brothers’ hands and trigger the process that will lead not only to the present rescue of Joseph but also to the future salvation of Jacob’s family and Egypt.
Judah, Joseph, and the Messiah
After the sale of Joseph, Judah does not feel comfortable living with his brothers any longer and prefers to disassociate himself from them. Judah’s disagreement with his brothers must have begun earlier when he used the argument of kinship against his brothers, “ ‘he is our brother and our flesh,’ ” to prevent them from killing Joseph (Gen. 37:27, NKJV). Judah’s conscience is always strong and active, as evidenced later in his plea for Benjamin (Gen. 44:18–34). In addition, the phrase that describes Judah as one who “went down” (Gen. 38:1, ESV, NIV) echoes the description of Joseph as one who “went down” to Egypt (see Gen. 37:25, 35; Gen. 39:1).
This parallel suggests that Judah’s move “down” was somehow sympathetic to Joseph’s condition, as the latter is taken down to Egypt. This is why the story of Judah’s incident with his daughter-in-law Tamar, which follows immediately after the sale of Joseph and his arrival in the Egyptian house of Potiphar (Gen. 38:1), belongs in the sequence of events. Not only do the events reported in chapter 38 follow, chronologically, the events recorded in chapter 37, as clearly indicated in the introductory formula, “at that time” (Gen. 38:1, NKJV), but the two chapters also share linguistic and thematic parallels with each other: the same words, “know” (Gen. 37:32) and “determine” (Gen. 38:25), and the same reference to a young “goat” (Gen. 37:31, Gen. 38:17). More important, the two passages convey the same fundamental theological lesson: they testify to the same providential power that overrules wicked human acts for the good of His people. Judah’s evil act is turned into a positive event, leading to the salvation of Israel. The sordid sexual encounter between Judah and Tamar will not only end in the redemption of the childless Tamar, but it also will produce the ancestor of David and, hence, of the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world.
Dreams of Egyptians
When Joseph is put in charge of prisoners, he meets with Pharaoh’s butler and baker, who are troubled by dreams they cannot understand (Gen. 40:1–8). Joseph interprets the dreams as predictions of what will happen to them in the future: the butler’s dream means that he will be restored to his former position (Gen. 40:9–15), whereas the baker’s dream means that he will be hanged (Gen. 40:16–19). The chapter ends with the report of the fulfillment of these dreams (Gen. 40:20–23), thus confirming the truth of the dreams and Joseph’s correct interpretation.
Following the two dreams of the high officers, Pharaoh also has two dreams, which no one can interpret (Gen. 41:1–7). The butler, who suddenly remembers Joseph, recommends him to Pharaoh (Gen. 41:8–13). The same scenario as before takes place. As in the two preceding cases, Pharaoh recounts his dreams to Joseph (Gen. 41:14–24), who then interprets them as a divine message concerning the economic future of Egypt and counsels the king accordingly (Gen. 41:25–36). Impressed by Joseph’s wisdom, Pharaoh promotes Joseph and entrusts him with the administration of the country (Gen. 41:37–46). Joseph manages the gathered grain and organizes the economic survival of the world (Gen. 41:47–57).
Part III: Life Application
The Dreams of Joseph. Read and discuss Jeremiah 28:8, 9. Why is the truth always threatening to people? What reactions do you have when you read a passage in Scripture and in Ellen White’s writings that disturbs you and challenges your choices or opinions? What criteria will you use to determine that the prophet speaks the truth? Find stories in your life in which a painful experience has led to an important discovery or to a new event of redemptive significance. Apply this observation to Jesus Christ: discuss how and why the cross was necessary for the salvation of humanity.
Judah, Joseph, and the Messiah. Discuss with your class the connection between Judah’s rescue of Joseph and Judah’s encounter with Tamar, leading to the Messianic seed. What do the parallels between these two stories teach us about God’s way of working in history and in human existence? Reflect upon your own life: What are some of the failures and struggles from your past that God has used to His glory? What do these experiences teach you about God? How do these experiences help you with the struggles and doubts you currently face?
Dreams of Egyptians. What missiological lessons can we learn from Joseph’s example in prison? What method of communication does Joseph use in relation to his fellow prisoners and to Pharaoh? Why is it important to witness to the leaders of the world? What spiritual message can we convey through the quality of our work?
Notes
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Key Text: Genesis 37:19
Study Focus: Gen. 37:1–41:36.
Part I: Overview
Introduction: Although Joseph is one of the sons of Jacob, he stands out as a great patriarchal figure, similar to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In fact, Joseph occupies more space in the book of Genesis than any of these three patriarchs. The stories of Joseph contrast with the preceding stories of rape, murder, and prostitution. Unlike the other patriarchs, who often stumble and misbehave, Joseph remains pure and compassionate. Like the prophet Daniel, Joseph is a wise man and a prophet. He is a wise man who behaves intelligently and finds the right solutions to problems of politics and economics; but he also is a prophet who receives God’s revelations to communicate to His people. Joseph not only receives dreams from God, but he also is able to interpret the dreams of other people, from the prison to the court of Pharaoh. Joseph represents the righteous person par excellence. He survives crime, deception, and violence. God defeats the acts of evil and the traps directed at Joseph and uses them to fulfill His designs. In fact, God turns all the wicked acts into opportunities to advance Joseph. Each time, Joseph comes out greater, whether it is from the pit, from slavery, from prison, or in the court of Pharaoh. God’s blessing of Joseph is not just for his happiness. It is through Joseph that God’s blessing of Abraham is fulfilled (compare Gen. 12:3, Gen. 22:18). Through Joseph, not only the family of Israel but all the nations will be blessed and saved.
Part II: Commentary
The Dreams of Joseph
The fact that Joseph receives dreams from God is humiliating for his brothers; the dreams are a divine sign of Joseph’s “spiritual” superiority. When Joseph tells his dreams to his brothers out of his naive desire to share the puzzling revelation with them, they are irritated and hate him even more. The reason for their increased anger is that they have understood the meaning of the first dream all too clearly (Gen. 37:8). As shepherds and people living off the land, they understand the significance of the sheaves, which evoke the production of basic food. The fact that their sheaves bow before their brother’s sheaf (Gen. 37:7) suggests that they will someday be economically dependent on him and even behave as servants to him for that purpose. The repetition of dreams with the same message confirms the truth of the message and is a sign that these dreams come from God (Gen. 41:32). Jacob interprets the symbols of the sun, the moon, and the 11 stars as referring, respectively, to the father (himself), the mother (his wife), and his 11 sons (Gen. 37:10). Jacob, therefore, understands that the dreams apply to his family and that one day they will all bow before Joseph. Although Jacob rebukes Joseph (Gen. 37:10), or pretends to rebuke him (because he is in the presence of the rest of his family), Jacob is puzzled by the dream. He secretly ponders over it and is anxious to see its fulfillment (Gen. 37:11).
However, the brothers are jealous and worried (Gen. 37:11) because they sense that the dream is threatening to them. Joseph’s brothers take, therefore, the first opportunity to eliminate the dreamer. The occasion presents itself when Jacob sends Joseph to visit his brothers in the fields. When the brothers see Joseph, they are excited even before he reaches them, because they realize this is their opportunity to kill him (Gen. 37:18). The plural exhortations of the brothers (Gen. 37:20) recall the plural exhortations of the men of Babel (Gen. 11:3, 4), suggesting a similar mentality and attitude. Like the men of Babel, the brothers take God’s place and intend to determine their own destiny and that of their brother. Joseph’s brothers want to kill him, not because he reports to his father or because they are jealous of him, but because of his dreams. The Hebrew expression they use to qualify him is ironic: ba‘al hakhalomot, which is translated “dreamer” (Gen. 37:19, NKJV), literally means “master of dreams.”
And yet, what they intended as a mockery will become prophetic, because Joseph will, indeed, become an expert in the interpretation of dreams. Although Joseph is alone and facing danger at each step of his troubles, someone unexpectedly intervenes on his behalf. When the brothers plot to kill him, Reuben persuades his brothers to cast him into a pit instead. When he is cast into the pit waiting to be killed, Judah convinces his brothers to sell him to a passing caravan instead. The brothers want to kill Joseph because they feel threatened by his dreams (Gen. 37:20). Their plan is to kill him and then cast his corpse into a pit (Gen. 37:20). The scene of the brothers sitting down to enjoy their meal while Joseph lies in an empty pit, without water (Gen. 37:24), anticipates, ironically, the reverse situation in which Joseph is well-fed while his brothers are hungry and threatened by starvation (Gen. 42:2, 33; Gen. 43:1, 2; Gen. 44:1; Gen. 45:17, 18). The technical expression “they lifted their eyes and looked, and there” (Gen. 37:25, NKJV) marks the anticipation of God’s intervention to save (see Gen. 18:2 and Gen. 22:13). The vision of the caravan anticipates the salvation of Joseph. That the caravan appears at that precise moment is indeed providential.
Judah is the only one who acts successfully on behalf of Joseph against his brothers. Whereas Reuben can only “hear” his brothers plotting to kill Joseph, Judah is “heard” by his brothers, who are then convinced by his arguments. Whereas Reuben can only delay the killing, Judah is able to save Joseph for good from his brothers’ hands and trigger the process that will lead not only to the present rescue of Joseph but also to the future salvation of Jacob’s family and Egypt.
Judah, Joseph, and the Messiah
After the sale of Joseph, Judah does not feel comfortable living with his brothers any longer and prefers to disassociate himself from them. Judah’s disagreement with his brothers must have begun earlier when he used the argument of kinship against his brothers, “ ‘he is our brother and our flesh,’ ” to prevent them from killing Joseph (Gen. 37:27, NKJV). Judah’s conscience is always strong and active, as evidenced later in his plea for Benjamin (Gen. 44:18–34). In addition, the phrase that describes Judah as one who “went down” (Gen. 38:1, ESV, NIV) echoes the description of Joseph as one who “went down” to Egypt (see Gen. 37:25, 35; Gen. 39:1).
This parallel suggests that Judah’s move “down” was somehow sympathetic to Joseph’s condition, as the latter is taken down to Egypt. This is why the story of Judah’s incident with his daughter-in-law Tamar, which follows immediately after the sale of Joseph and his arrival in the Egyptian house of Potiphar (Gen. 38:1), belongs in the sequence of events. Not only do the events reported in chapter 38 follow, chronologically, the events recorded in chapter 37, as clearly indicated in the introductory formula, “at that time” (Gen. 38:1, NKJV), but the two chapters also share linguistic and thematic parallels with each other: the same words, “know” (Gen. 37:32) and “determine” (Gen. 38:25), and the same reference to a young “goat” (Gen. 37:31, Gen. 38:17). More important, the two passages convey the same fundamental theological lesson: they testify to the same providential power that overrules wicked human acts for the good of His people. Judah’s evil act is turned into a positive event, leading to the salvation of Israel. The sordid sexual encounter between Judah and Tamar will not only end in the redemption of the childless Tamar, but it also will produce the ancestor of David and, hence, of the Messiah of Israel, the Savior of the world.
Dreams of Egyptians
When Joseph is put in charge of prisoners, he meets with Pharaoh’s butler and baker, who are troubled by dreams they cannot understand (Gen. 40:1–8). Joseph interprets the dreams as predictions of what will happen to them in the future: the butler’s dream means that he will be restored to his former position (Gen. 40:9–15), whereas the baker’s dream means that he will be hanged (Gen. 40:16–19). The chapter ends with the report of the fulfillment of these dreams (Gen. 40:20–23), thus confirming the truth of the dreams and Joseph’s correct interpretation.
Following the two dreams of the high officers, Pharaoh also has two dreams, which no one can interpret (Gen. 41:1–7). The butler, who suddenly remembers Joseph, recommends him to Pharaoh (Gen. 41:8–13). The same scenario as before takes place. As in the two preceding cases, Pharaoh recounts his dreams to Joseph (Gen. 41:14–24), who then interprets them as a divine message concerning the economic future of Egypt and counsels the king accordingly (Gen. 41:25–36). Impressed by Joseph’s wisdom, Pharaoh promotes Joseph and entrusts him with the administration of the country (Gen. 41:37–46). Joseph manages the gathered grain and organizes the economic survival of the world (Gen. 41:47–57).
Part III: Life Application
The Dreams of Joseph. Read and discuss Jeremiah 28:8, 9. Why is the truth always threatening to people? What reactions do you have when you read a passage in Scripture and in Ellen White’s writings that disturbs you and challenges your choices or opinions? What criteria will you use to determine that the prophet speaks the truth? Find stories in your life in which a painful experience has led to an important discovery or to a new event of redemptive significance. Apply this observation to Jesus Christ: discuss how and why the cross was necessary for the salvation of humanity.
Judah, Joseph, and the Messiah. Discuss with your class the connection between Judah’s rescue of Joseph and Judah’s encounter with Tamar, leading to the Messianic seed. What do the parallels between these two stories teach us about God’s way of working in history and in human existence? Reflect upon your own life: What are some of the failures and struggles from your past that God has used to His glory? What do these experiences teach you about God? How do these experiences help you with the struggles and doubts you currently face?
Dreams of Egyptians. What missiological lessons can we learn from Joseph’s example in prison? What method of communication does Joseph use in relation to his fellow prisoners and to Pharaoh? Why is it important to witness to the leaders of the world? What spiritual message can we convey through the quality of our work?
Notes